Fair Use

This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in my efforts to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc.

I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research, educational, or satirical purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site/blog for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Additionally, many posts in this blog contain original material and previously unreported news. Any media outlet, website or blogger that reports previously unreported news or quotes opinions obtained from this website is ethically obligated to credit me or my blog in their initial report on the subject.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

I'll admit to not being an expert on the Medicaid expansion that Gov. John Kasich proposed for Ohio - as part of Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare - but this new bill introduced by Rep. Barbara Sears sure sounds a lot like it.

The House, after significant public pressure from conservatives and tea party groups, removed the Medicaid expansion from the budget bill (H.B. 59) earlier in the year. Rep. Sears was extensively criticized for her role in pushing the expansion and for what some considered was a violation of the Health Care Freedom Amendment overwhelmingly passed by Ohioans. She responded to those allegations, saying she did, in fact, support the Health Care Freedom Amendment, though she believed a pending bill would conflict with that amendment.

Speaker Bill Batchelder told reporters that a bill separate from the budget could be passed by the House before the end of June.

The press release below details some of the provisions of her legislation:

The legislation would extend coverage to Ohioans under 138% of the federal poverty level and will provide critical health care services to Ohio’s poorest citizens. New enrollees in the Medicaid program will be fully funded by the federal government for the first three years. The bill provides protections for Ohio should the federal assistance percentage decrease below the specified amount after the third year.

“Ohio’s Medicaid system has made substantial improvements over the past few years and this legislation furthers that effort,” Rep. Sears said. “By providing a ladder up and out of poverty through quality care, we are allowing for citizens to achieve greater self sufficiency and creating a healthier Ohio.”

The bill also includes requiring the Medicaid director to present a report to the General Assembly on the progress being made and specifies that the Joint Legislative Committee on Medicaid Technology and Reform consider and review the reforms implemented by this legislation.